


Kitten

by koi_boi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Has Issues, Armitage Hux Keeps Skulls, Armitage Hux in love, But He's Not Ready To Really Talk About Them Yet, Child Abuse, Comfort No Hurt, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Cutesy, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Gentleness, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kylo Ren in Love, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Promises of Days Off And Pampering, Tenderness, They're both in love but don't understand that yet, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:28:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23353207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koi_boi/pseuds/koi_boi
Summary: Hux sleeps in an orange cat onesie (which happens to match Millicent). Kylo catches him snoozing in said onesie. They cuddle. It's exactly what it says on the can. Imagine the 3 panel frisbee dog comic except it’s: Hurt/comfort? No hurt. Only comfort.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo, Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 102





	Kitten

When the door to Hux’s quarters whisks silently closed behind him, Kylo can feel the weight of his previous mission slough off his shoulders, like the old papery skin of a snake due to shed.

He removes his helmet with a pneumatic _hiss_ and sighs as he breathes in the brisk, clean air of Hux’s personal quarters.

Hux’s chambers are oddly silent, even for this ungodly early hour of the morning, and Kylo can only hope that Hux had taken his advice to sleep more often.

Kylo quietly requests the lights to a dim twenty percent, as not to disturb Hux, should he truly be sleeping. The odds of such an outcome are stacked against him, but Kylo is more than used to facing unfavorable situations and coming out on top.

He pads quietly into the main portion of Hux’s living quarters, fully prepared to find the general leaning over his desk scouring documents on datapads that can certainly wait until tomorrow, but to his surprise, no such sight greets his eyes. Instead, the main room is empty, organized, and sterile, as if it were unoccupied, save for the few personal touches here and there.

While that ridiculous couch sticks out like a pale blue sore thumb in a sea of monotonous shades of black and gray, and the gadgets on his desk indicate a man with high clearance, prone to overworking himself, the more personal parts of Hux’s life lie in secrecy, lurking quietly behind mundane cabinet doors and drawers.

Hux likes to keep most of his private life out of sight, even in the safety of his own quarters. Rarely has Kylo caught so much as a glimpse of anything Hux has not been prepared to show him. Hux strongly believes that if not for the locks on his cabinets and mind—despite all his promises—Kylo would begin rifling through them as he pleased.

But Kylo has made sure to uphold each of his promises as of late, at least to Hux. He has waited patiently for Hux to relax enough to lower his own walls one at a time and open up about the raw, gritty details of his experiences. Piece by piece, the countless facets of himself fall into place, slowly, but surely, creating an entire three-dimensional portrait of the Starkiller himself.

Sure, it would be easier, faster — _more efficient_ , as Hux would say in that curt, crisp accent—to force himself into Hux’s mind and rip down those walls himself, but there was something rewarding, fulfilling even, to see Hux cautiously surrender another layer of protection and reveal his soft underbelly to Ren.

As much as he would love to see that couch replaced, Kylo would very much miss sitting in a particular spot, remembering fondly the first time Hux invited him into his quarters and lowered the first of his many defenses.

Handling the skull of one’s father is not generally viewed as a charming first date, but considering Kylo’s own complicated familial relations and subsequent life choices, the knight was by no means surprised that a man such as Hux had faced some sort of mistreatment in his younger years to lead up to him both wanting to bring the galaxy to its knees before him and keeping his own father’s head on a shelf. Besides, the whole ordeal was undeniably Hux-like in nature, and Kylo wouldn’t have had it any other way. And judging from the slightly nervous—almost shy—look on the General's face, holding the ivory cranium, absolutely cleaned of any remnants that one could recognize as Brendol Hux through the power of a good strong bacta, was a privilege many could never even dream of experiencing.

_“He stays in the cabinet and sees only what I let him,” Hux had said smugly, staring down at the bones in Kylo’s gloved hands with a look that read of mingled disdain and pride. “I want him to witness me rise beyond anything he could have dreamed of. The son he never realized was greater than him.” Then, with an oddly soft voice he added, “I like to look at him and know that I am better now.”_

_“I look at you, and I know you’re better than he ever was,” Kylo had said gently back, passing the skull gingerly to Hux. “Anyone who isn’t blind must be able to see that.”_

_Hux had given him the first of many smiles at that time, though it was the only one tinged with such a profound sadness Kylo had wondered if he had said something stupid enough to warrant pity._

_“I am better than he was,” Hux said quietly, closing the cabinet with a muted click. “But I’m not talking about that.”_

Kylo blinks at the right hand door of that particular cabinet, knowing the dark, hollow eyes of Brendol Hux’s remains are glaring vibroblades at him for showing so much as an ounce of kindness toward his son.

No matter. The dead are of very little importance to men as powerful as Kylo.

With soft steps, he tiptoes to the durasteel wall that divides Hux’s main quarters from his sleeping quarters. He punches in the code, and the door slides open with a brisk _swish_.

The moment Kylo’s eyes can begin to make out the hazy outline of Hux’s still form, lying on his side at the edge of his bed, his heart soars.

He creeps through the entrance and lets the door glide shut behind him. If he could see himself in the mirror, he wouldn’t be surprised to see a warm smile slowly painting itself across his cheeks.

_Hux had taken his advice._

Granted, it could have easily been absolute necessity that forced Hux to decide to sleep, such as a visible drop in his productivity or collapsing on his shift again, but Kylo chose to believe that it was a conscious effort to take better care of his health.

“Lights ten percent,” he says gently, and a soft glow illuminates perhaps the most precious sight Kylo has ever seen in all his life.

Not only is Hux sleeping peacefully, cozied up sweetly in a nest of plush blankets and pillows beside a particular orange cat, but he’s dressed in perhaps the most ridiculously cute possession Kylo never even knew he owned.

The garment in question, which Hux has donned instead of his usual nightwear, is a fluffy orange jumpsuit with attached socks that covers his lithe body from head to toe. Judging from the plastic zipper on the front, Hux must have stepped into the outfit _(Kylo fondly imagines him wiggling his toes in the fleecy footholders)_ and zipped himself up inside it, then pulled the furry hood over his hair. It appears to be a cartoonish imitation of an orange cat with white stripes in its hide.

 _Like pet, like owner_ , Kylo smiles.

And to top it all off, two little orange ears were flopped adorably in opposite directions atop his head, their ginger color matching a thin, stuffed tail that was sewn onto the seat of his pants.

Kylo approaches the bed quietly and squats down beside its edge, setting his helmet on the carpet.

It is truly a privilege to be able to see General Hux—one of the most powerful and feared men in the galaxy—close enough to see the faint constellations of freckles that dust his cheekbones, his dainty, porcelain hands with with purple tinged nail beds from a combination of cold, recycled air and poor circulation, the red split in his lip he had pierced with his teeth two nights previous: the small collection of things that create cracks in the facade of his cold, almost automated, exterior. Kylo was sure if Hux had been replaced by a droid, the universe would see little difference, but Kylo’s own universe would crumble.

Without those flaws, visible proof that Hux was, in fact, human, Kylo would be alone again, trapped underneath his thoughts and fears, without someone so similar and so capable to confide in and to admire up close. Someone whose flaws could be lost in the grandeur of someone who lived up to, and perhaps beyond, the legend he had created. As many times as he could tell Hux that all his little imperfections came together to create the perfect being, Hux would never be able to release that prudish, dour voice of his father’s that lingered in the back of his mind, poking mercilessly at his most fragile spots.

But for now, that imperial grandeur is far away, tucked away in the distant corners of Hux’s mind, folded up in a fresh uniform sitting atop a chair in the corner, as Hux dozes peacefully in the plush comfort of a bed he so rarely uses.

Kylo runs his hand slowly over the peak of his shoulder and down the smooth dip where his chest slopes into his waist, then up over the crest of his hip.

As if sensing a threat to her master’s rest, Millicent raises her head with an offended chirrup.

Kylo offers her a quick smile and a little forehead rub.

Millicent rises to her paws and arches her back for a hearty stretch before hopping from her spot on Hux’s bed to the floor, prepared to spend the night battling invisible dust bunnies no doubt. She settles impatiently before the entrance and gives an irritated meow.

“Sorry, princess,” Kylo mumbles, rising to his feet to open the door again.

Once the door is open, Millicent prances regally from Hux’s sleeping quarters, as if she can’t bother to grace either Hux or Kylo with her presence unless they can procure treats for her.

Kylo resettles into his position in front of Hux and presses a tender kiss in the space between Hux’s brows. A glad-to-be-home gift for his welcome-back gift.

“Kylo?” a soft, sleepy voice asks.

The sound tugs at Kylo’s heart with warm fingers, momentarily enveloping him in a profound sense of…something. Something powerful and consuming, but fragile and hesitant in these early stages of development.

“It’s me,” Kylo whispers back.

Hux yawns quietly, his hand untangling from the sheets to rub the sand that has gathered from his nap out of the corners of his eyes as he pushes himself with his other hand, resting the weight of his upper body on his arm.

“Sleep well?” Kylo asks gently, rubbing a fuzzy orange shoulder.

Hux nods with a small noise of affirmation, clearly too muzzy from his nap to remember how he had fallen asleep and what that posed to his perceived reputation in Kylo’s mind. As if Kylo could look at him with anything but adoration and pride.

A smile breaks across Kylo’s face again.

“You certainly looked cozy, kitten,” he says.

Hux’s hand pauses in mid air, and he stares blankly at Kylo for a prolonged moment, his brain struggling to decipher the words reverberating between his ears.

Kylo’s smile only grows wider as clarity flickers behind those lovely emerald eyes. Hux suddenly flushes a delightful shade of pink.

“You weren’t supposed to see this,” he mutters dourly, reaching for a sheet to cover himself up, as though he could simply erase the memory currently burning itself into Kylo’s brain by hiding himself away. Suddenly, his eyes turn fiercely toward the knight, an image of an emperor with an iron fist glowing viciously behind them. “And according to anyone who wants to know, you didn’t.”

A few short months ago that very same look would have sent chills up Kylo’s spine, but now, in the growing familiar space of Hux’s private quarters, the utter laughability of receiving threats of death from the mouth of a man currently dressed like a fuzzy kitten overruled any sort of galaxy destroying power those eyes held.

“Of course, kitten,” Kylo agrees kindly. “Because you’re all mine, and I wouldn’t want anyone knowing how cute you are anyway.”

Hux huffs, his eyes shifting away and his lip pushing up in an unmistakable, but nonetheless charming, pout.

“If your objective is to tease me, then you’re welcome to occupy your own bed tonight,” he says hotly.

“Maybe I really think it’s cute,” Kylo grins as he unwinds his cowl from his neck and tosses it haphazardly over a shoulder onto the floor of Hux’s immaculate quarters. _Maybe I really think you’re cute._ “Maybe I want to cuddle up with my little cozy fluffball.”

Kylo moves to crawl into Hux’s bed, but finds the blurry outline of a slender hand in front of his nose moments before laying his hands on Hux’s freshly washed sheets.

“Certainly not before a shower, Lord Ren,” Hux says slyly. “You wouldn’t want your _kitten_ and his sheets to get dirty, now do we?”

Kylo huffs and moves away, knowing he can't win this battle.

“Picky, picky,” he mutters dourly.

“If you’d rather not use my refresher, I’m sure the floor is a comfortable option,” Hux adds, rolling over to face the opposite wall of his quarters.

Incidentally, Kylo can clearly see the rest of the fluffy white striping across the back of Hux’s frankly ridiculous getup.

Kylo removes his clothing and dumps them into a pile on the floor of Hux’s refresher. A decision he will receive chastisement in the morning for, no doubt, but thought of Hux’s irritation later is an almost meaningless tradeoff for snuggling into bed with Hux right now.

As he rinses off under the hot spray of Hux’s refresher, he can nearly see the man on his knees before him, lapping kittenishly at his cock, blinking coyly up at him through his golden lashes. A premonition for tomorrow morning, he hopes.

Kylo scrubs his body clean of any remnants of his mission, lathering his hair in the sweet, flowery smell of a pale green shampoo, a gift to Hux from the bustling markets of a planet very close to a distal home, which lies among the cloudy memories of a lost child who wanted to be a jedi.

Hux must certainly be able to tell that when Kylo buries his nose in Hux’s hair and inhales, he finds the dual sensation of his warm body and the syrupy smell soothing, if not therapeutic, to the storm of confliction that rages inside him constantly because he only seems to use the shampoo when Kylo comes over with intent to spend the night.

Kylo towels off quickly and tosses it into the chute for the cleaning droids to wash, dry, and return the following morning. When he steps out of the refresher room, the chill of Hux’s quarters washes over his bare skin. All the more encouragement to climb into bed.

Before he does though, he fetches a fresh set of his underwear from one of Hux’s drawers—a permanent fixture of Hux’s wardrobe ever since Kylo began paying late night visits—and pulls them up over his hips. Hux would not be pleased to wake up to find the remnants of last night’s wet dream stained on his back again.

The bed dips as Kylo climbs onto the mattress, and the sheets rustle as he settles himself into their warm folds. Hux rolls over onto his other side and right into Kylo’s awaiting arms, which engulf him in a loose, but firm hug.

Somewhere just outside the door, Millicent races by, her paws nearly silent on the regulation carpet that covers Hux’s floors.

“Missed this,” Hux mumbles.

 _Missed you_ , his mind projects.

Kylo gently tugs the hood back into place over Hux’s head and adjusts it so the little cat ears are situated on top of his head once more.

“Missed you too, kitten,” Kylo hums, pulling Hux closer, smiling when Hux goes easily, as though he has melted against the warmth of Kylo’s bare chest.

“They really are comfortable, Ren,” he says sleepily.

“Hm?”

“This.” Hux reaches up with a slender hand to flick at the little fuzzy ears sewn into his hood. “I ought to buy you one, too, so you can feel.”

Kylo rubs a hand slowly up and down Hux’s back, enjoying how the fluff feels under his fingertips. He can never get enough of this. Holding Hux. Feeling him, warm and content under his hands. The hands that have caused so much harm to those closest to him, attached to a man who thought he could never find someone who can truly accept him and all his flaws.

“You’d be a black cat,” Hux says, eyes twinkling mischievously. “To match your hair.”

“Is that so?” Kylo muses.

Hux cuddles closer to Kylo’s chest, his eyes blinking slowly up at his knight, sleep weighing heavy on his eyelids.

“Hm,” he confirms.

The prospect of spending time cuddling like kittens is enticing, to say the least. Maybe even spending all day in bed, warm and cozy, sharing kisses and gentle touches. Perhaps Kylo should arrange for Hux to have a day off sometime soon.

“But, I’d rather be the owner of a precious, handsome kitty,” Kylo hums. “Waiting for me when I come back.”

Hux raises an eyebrow skeptically. “Would you, now?” he asks, his tone questioning, but curious.

“Of course I would. I’ll spend the whole day pampering my kitten.” Kylo grins, nuzzling Hux’s nose. “I’d start with a massage because he works so hard all the time, then run a warm bath to share. Then I’d carry him out of the tub, dry him off and tuck him in bed with a platter of delicacies from across the galaxies to feed him one by one.”

Hux laughs, a warm genuine sound that bubbles out of his mouth.

“How about that?” Kylo asks, pressing another kiss on the center of Hux’s forehead.

Hux smiles up at the knight, a once foreign gesture he now wears more and more often in the comfort of Kylo’s presence. His eyes still hold apprehension, as if what he has now is too good to last and at any point he’ll wake up and realize it was all a dream, but the beginnings of trust are slowly creeping into the edges of his leafy green eyes.

“I would like that very much, Kylo.”

**Author's Note:**

> In Kylo’s memory of their first date, Hux was talking about feeling emotionally/physically better, now that Brendol is no longer abusing him. He's still kind of pushed around by the ppl around him a little, but it's better off than being abused by his dad. Kylo will one day catch on, probably some time from now, while they’re laying in bed and have been married for the last 10 years.  
> This is based kinda loosely off this ask on tumblr:  
> https://solohux.tumblr.com/post/189851481239/onesie-hux-ahhhhh-theyre-fuzzy-and-warm-in-the
> 
> Edit: I got a Tumblr @ koi---boi.tumblr.com


End file.
